Revenge
by Pandoras-Closet
Summary: Fo six years, Molly Okasa has been a victim. Then, one night, both tradgedy and fortune struck. Now, armed with one of the most powerful weapons in the universe, Molly has just goal: Revenge.
1. Fortune and Tradgedy

They came, just like they always did. Five females in costumes with energy powers.  
  
Like always, there was horrific battle, the enemy destroyed and the costumed women left, leaving the Police to clean things up and explain things to the media.  
  
Molly Okasa, age nineteen, was sick of it.  
  
She sat on the rock next to the lake in Central Park, her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms keeping them there.  
  
Glumly, she watched as the officers stood there, scratching their heads in confusion. Eventually, it would be blamed on mass hysteria, gas, or bad food, the claims of monsters and women in sailor suits with superhuman powers dismissed as illusions.  
  
Hallucinations.  
  
Just like last time. And the time before that. And the time before that.  
  
You idiots! She wanted to scream. Don't you think that there might be some grain of truth? Don't you think that so many mass fainting spells combined with monster stories might be more then just a coincidence?!  
  
They wouldn't listen, why would they? She was just a Gaijn, a foreigner, and not even an important one. Just the daughter of a jeweler.  
  
Molly felt her hands curl into fists as the hot tears rolled down her cheeks.  
  
She wanted so desperately to fight back, even to the point of taking up Martial Arts.  
  
That had been no good.  
  
The tears flowed faster as she unwillingly remembered how the Youma had simply laughed and then drained her of energy. Just like all the other times before.  
  
The tears became a flood, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed.  
  
Why?  
  
Why did they always seem to come to her?  
  
She raised her eyes up and looked at the lake.  
  
So cool. So inviting. All it would take would be one little movement, the shock of hitting the water would stun her, the weight of her wet clothes would drag her under, the cold would numb her.  
  
They wouldn't find her body till tomorrow, or even the day after.  
  
No more pain, no more Youma.  
  
No more-  
  
She looked up at the sound of shoe soles on rock.  
  
"Hey, Moll," said the shoes' owner, a pretty blond haired coed with her hair in a most peculiar style.  
  
"Hey, Serena," Molly said, her voice flat and devoid of emotion as she resumed staring at the lake.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"I'm sick of it."  
  
"It?"  
  
"The Youma. The endless fighting," Molly waved a hand at the controlled chaos at the other side of the lake. "The way they go on like sheep because they don't want to think of what might really be going on." She sighed. "I'm sick of being attacked, I'm sick of worrying about my friends, I'm sick of answering questions from the police." She exhaled loudly, her breath forming into steam as it hit the night air. "I'm just sick of it."  
  
"You think we aren't?" Serena asked. "Not a day goes by that I wake up and wonder if today's the day when I'll be required to give my life up to keep the Earth safe. The others are the same way. We're sick of it too. But we do it because its got to be done."  
  
Molly chuckled.  
  
"What's so funny?" Serena demanded.  
  
"Six years ago you never would have said something like that."  
  
Serena smiled. "No, I suppose I wouldn't have," she admitted. "I guess I've done some growing up."  
  
"Everyone has," Molly said as she looked at Serena, her question clear on her face.  
  
"No," Serena said.  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Positive," Serena said. "We even asked Pluto. I'm sorry, Molly, there is no Sailor Sun, Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Terra, Sol, Nemesis, Asteroid, Comet, Cosmic, Red, or anything like that. No Scouts were named after any other moons, zodiacs, mythology or characters therein of any kind. Nor were they named for and or after any religion, country, weather, continent, geologicial feature, or the constellations. None of us had a sister back during the Silver Millennium. No scouts were ever named after any metal, mineral, plant, animal, gas, color, or anything on any table of the elements, science, or psi. Nothing. Not even any combinations like Iron Ceres or Silver Leo." Serena scratched her nose. "I even asked about body parts, you know, heart, lung, stuff like that," she continued and then her eyes narrowed. "She told me to quit being silly."  
  
"So that's it then. I'm doomed to a life of being Youma chow."  
  
Serena was silent for a while. "Hey," she said at last. "How about some hot fudge sundaes at Tomoe's? My treat."  
  
"Sure," Molly said as she stood up. "Why not?"  
  
#--#  
  
Late afternoon, The Lake in Central Park, Two Weeks Later. . .  
  
Molly sighed as Melvin continued to babble about the latest project in his biotechnology class. Gradually, he realized she wasn't even listening and trailed off.  
  
"Hey, Molly? Something wrong?"  
  
"I'm just sick of it all. Life, school, Youma. . ."  
  
"Youma? Molly, have you been getting enough sleep?" Molly then remembered that Melvin had never been told and that therefore the mysterious "Central Control" hadn't released him from what Mina had, for God knew what reasons, dubbed "The Matrix", which was a field projected across the world that kept people from being too interested in what was going on in Tokyo.  
  
The thought that there was an entity out there capable of that kind of feat made Molly shudder and she tried very hard not to think about it.  
  
"Yeah, Melvin," she said, forcing some humor into her voice as she screwed her face up into a rictus grin. "Youma. And they work for these aliens that want to steal all the life energy on earth." She waggled her fingers at him and made moaning noises.  
  
"You read to much manga," Melvin said.  
  
Molly hmphed and turned, walking away. She hadn't gone more then a few feet when a pair of arms wrapped around her waist from behind and she heard Melvin's voice in her ear.  
  
"Bah, I'm a Youma, give me your life energy," he made slobbering noises.  
  
"Oooh Help!" Molly said, laughing, unable to help herself. "A big mean scary Youma! Oh help!" Squirming, she broke free of his grip and started running, Melvin in hot pursuit.  
  
Laughing, she led him across the park and into the woods surrounding it, where he finally managed to bring her down in an isolated part, known affectionately as "Love Alley."  
  
Still laughing, Molly squirmed until she was lying on her back underneath him.  
  
"Oh, Mister Youma," She said, making herself sound like one of the brainless female leads in a movie. "Now that you have me, what will you do with me?"  
  
"I'll think of something," Melvin replied.  
  
"Just," she said breathlessly, "just keep it short." Then she fluttered her eyelashes at him.  
  
"Short?" He smiled his best evil smile. "Never," He promised as he kissed her.  
  
"Good." Molly said, returning the kiss as she pulled him down, her body arching up into his. "Mmmmm. . ."  
  
#--#  
  
The sun was setting by the time they emerged from the woods, hand in hand. Both were faintly flushed and several people gave them knowing grins.  
  
They walked until they reached the rock by the lake and there they stood, watching the sun slip beneath the horizon.  
  
"Melvin? Have I told you that I love you lately?"  
  
"Hmmm, I believe the most recent thing you said to me involved some loud moaning," Melvin said, his tone mockingly serious.  
  
"Well," she said, leaning against the rock as Melvin came closer. "I love you."  
  
"Say it again," Melvin said, leaning against her.  
  
"I love you," Molly whispered.  
  
"I love you too," Melvin whispered back and they kissed again.  
  
Things were just getting interesting when Melvin pulled away and put his hand in his pocket. "I got something to show you," he began when they heard shouting. There was a flash of color and some sounds that sounded like an animal growling.  
  
"Oak Evolution!" someone cried. There was a blinding flash and Molly suddenly found herself hurtling through the air. She saw the water coming up fast, there was a jolt of pain and everything went black.  
  
She drifted in the blackness. A voice was talking to her and Melvin. Melvin insisting that the voice save her. There was a roaring noise and she felt something envelop her.  
  
#--#  
  
Her head was breaking the surface. Coughing, she tried to keep afloat even as she took her bearings.  
  
It was definitely nighttime. She was somewhere in the middle of the lake and she could see bright lights of what looked like a work crew at the lake's edge. Grateful for her choice of clothes, she kicked her sandals off and struggled out of her jacket, letting it all sink to the lake bottom before she struck out for shore.  
  
Looked like it was time to find out if all that time she put into swimming back in the Brownies would pay off.  
  
#--#  
  
She was nearly to shore before somebody spotted her. Shouts soon went up and she was helped the rest of the way to dry land.  
  
"What happened to you?" A paramedic asked as he put a blanket around her shoulders. "Did you get caught in the tornado?"  
  
Molly took the cup of hot chocolate and had some in her mouth before his question registered and she spat the liquid out. "T-Tornado?" She asked, wiping her mouth.  
  
"Yeah. Weirdest thing anyone ever saw. Freak tornado ripped through the park tearing up everything. Conspiracy nuts are blaming the Americans."  
  
"Y-yeah. Those crazy Americans." Molly took another drink of hot chocolate to buy time to get her emotions in order. When she looked up again, she saw Serena, Amy, Raye, Lita and Mina standing nearby. Mina had a bag slung over her shoulder and she could see Luna and Artemis peering out.  
  
Setting the hot chocolate aside, Molly wrapped the blanket tighter around herself and walked over to them. "Hey, guys," she said, smiling brightly until she noticed that none of them were smiling back. "What's wrong?"  
  
Nobody said anything for a long moment, then Serena indicated something with a jerk of her head. "I'm sorry," she half whispered.  
  
"Sorry for what?" Molly asked, turning to see. All she saw were paramedics loading a body into an ambulance. Then the stretcher hit a bump and an arm fell out from beneath the sheet.  
  
On the wrist was a distinctly familiar wristwatch. A watch she had given to someone very special on his eighteenth birthday.  
  
"NOOOOOO!" Molly cried, half running and stumbling towards the ambulance. Shoving the startled men aside, she tore the sheet aside and stared at Melvin's face.  
  
He was bloated and blue, his face covered with cuts and bruises. "No," she whispered, clutching his hand and holding it to her face. The tears flowed down her cheeks and his arm.  
  
"Um, Miss? Ma'am?"  
  
Molly didn't hear the paramedic. She didn't hear anything except Melvin's voice telling her that he loved her. She didn't feel anything except his hands moving over her body, or see anything but his eyes, locked with hers. The only thing she tasted was his lips on hers.  
  
But she did feel it when the paramedics pulled her away so they could load Melvin into the ambulance.  
  
"No! Wait!" she cried, reaching out for him. "Don't take him from me!" Then Serena was there. "They took him, Serena!" Molly wailed, sinking to her knees, "they took him!"  
  
Serena held the trembling girl as she looked up at her friends.  
  
#--#  
  
One week later, A cemetery in Tokyo.  
  
"And so, we commend the body of Melvin Umino to the earth. Let us pray." Molly bowed her head, but did not pray. Instead, her eyes were staring at the diamond ring in her hand, which her mother had given to her.  
  
"He bought this from the store only a few days before. . ." she'd said to Molly, a wan smile on her face. "I think he'd want you to hold on to it."  
  
"I would have said yes," Molly whispered under her breath.  
  
#--#  
  
6 months later. . .  
  
"Molly!" Serena cried, running up to her. You look terrific!" Molly gave her best friend a smile and twirled. She wore a thin, light blue, silk dress cut low to reveal the ring Melvin had been going to give her on a gold chain hung around her neck.  
  
"I'll second that," said the tall, dark haired man who came up behind Serena. "Its a shame I'm already taken," he teased just before Serena's elbow dug into his ribs. "Ow. Take it easy, Meatball Head," he protested, rubbing his side.  
  
"You'll pay for that later," Serena said, her tone of voice promising that the payment demanded could be interesting if he played his cards right.  
  
"Yes, Ma'am," he said, tossing off a mock salute. "How about I get you ladies some punch?"  
  
"Thank you," Molly said and resumed staring out the window at the Garden.  
  
The girls were at an inter-school mixer held at the beautiful Asasho Gardens mansion, formal wear required. Quite frankly, Molly hated social gatherings, but Serena had insisted, even going so far as to enlist the aid of both their mothers.  
  
"Still miss Melvin?" Serena asked.  
  
"Yeah," Molly said. "Every day it become easier to deal with but I still feel like I'm betraying him every I so much as look at another guy."  
  
"Aw come on, Moll," Serena said, grabbing the redhead's arm and leading her towards the crowd of people. "You know Melvin would want you to find someone to be happy with."  
  
Molly let herself be led, mainly because deep down, she knew she was right.  
  
It was at that point that Destiny made a roll of the Cosmic Dice.  
  
Snake Eyes.  
  
The roof over the band collapsed as the Youma burst in. It was a snake headed beast with a sword in each hand.  
  
"Ethka," It hissed as the sword blades began to glow, drawing in energy.  
  
Molly, concealed behind the safety of a plant, curled herself up in a fetal position. She could hear the Senshi getting their butts handed to them. Closing her eyes, she prayed silently, trying to ignore the pounding sound in her ears.  
  
Opening her eyes, she saw Sailor Moon hit the wall and fall, not moving.  
  
The pounding in her ears became a roar that drowned out everything else.  
  
'Now,' whispered a voice in her mind.  
  
#--#  
  
Jupiter, Venus, Mars, and Mercury were in trouble and they knew it, Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon were both down for the count. Venus had the Moon Crescent Wand, and not a hope in hell of being able to use it.  
  
"This is it, guys," Mars said. "Last call."  
  
"We can't give up," Venus said. "All we need is a plan."  
  
"All we need is a miracle," Jupiter retorted.  
  
The Youma raised its swords high, intent on fulfilling prime directive number one: Terminate the Senshi.  
  
"Leave them alone," growled a woman's voice that rang hollow, with a pronounced electronic buzz.  
  
As one, the Senshi turned. Standing in the doorway was a woman clad in what looked like living armor. That is, the armor seemed to resemble the hard carapace of a beetle or perhaps plates of bone.  
  
"And you are?" The Senshi looked at the Youma, surprised. It was the first time a Youma had ever talked in its true form.  
  
"Warrior will do," the figure said, looking at the ball of energy that was forming in her hand as though she had never seen it before. Almost casually as her arm snapped forward, hurtling the energy ball across the ballroom to smack the Youma on the chest. "I've had a bad day. Leave. Now," Warrior said as she started forward at a steady walk.  
  
"And if I don't?" the Youma asked, smirking.  
  
"Then you'll have a worse one" At that, Warrior broke into a run, leaping into the air, twisting as she jumped, and landing on the Youma's shoulders, driving the blades into its skull.  
  
The Youma howled, jerking back, swinging the deadly blades in an attempt to find its opponent, but Warrior was already moving, leaping off of the Youma's shoulders to land behind it. Spinning on the balls of her feet, she slashed at its back, cutting a strip across its spine.  
  
The Youma howled again as it spun, bringing both swords down.  
  
But Warrior had backflipped out of harm's way, landing in a spider like crouch.  
  
"Not bad," the Youma said, breathing heavily, as the wounds sealed themselves.  
  
Warrior said nothing, instead rising and taking a fighting stance as the Youma did likewise. For a long moment, they faced each other, each one sizing up their opponent.  
  
Then, seemingly as one, they moved. Their arms were a blur, a whirlwind of flashing blades.  
  
There was no room for mistakes. No room for even the tiniest error. Even Jupiter's trained eye had trouble following the battle. But it did pick out one thing. Warrior, intentionally or not, was buying them time.  
  
As one, they raced back to where Sailor Moon groggily lay.  
  
"Sailor Moon!" Mars cried, falling to her knees as Mercury grabbed the prone girl's wrist, and began counting under her breath even as she was looking over Sailor Moon's face.  
  
"Pulse is good, everything looks normal, how are you feeling?"  
  
"What happened?" she asked, sitting up slowly.  
  
"New kind of Youma," Jupiter said curtly.  
  
"Where is it?"  
  
"It found a new playmate," Venus quipped. "Rather energetic one too."  
  
"Who is that?" Sailor Moon demanded, catching sight of the armored figure who had the Youma's attention.  
  
"Dunno, as she put it, and I quote; 'Warrior will do,'" Jupiter said, helping Sailor Moon to her feet.  
  
At that point, the Youma made an ever so slight error.  
  
Swinging its swords, the Youma lunged with one, the other one held up to block. But it had overextended its reach just a little to much. Warrior feinted, batted the blocked sword aside, chopped off the outstretched arm then ran her blade right into where the Youma's heart roughly was.  
  
The Youma howled, glowing brighter and brighter before crumbling into dust.  
  
Sitting on the dust was a brightly colored jewel with a black upside down crescent moon. As they watched, the color faded.  
  
Warrior picked up the jewel and looked at it for a moment, then her fingers closed tightly around the jewel, triggering a distinctive crunching sound.  
  
When she opened her hand, there was only dust.  
  
"Warrior?" Sailor Moon called. The helmeted head turned to look at them. "I'd like to thank you for your help."  
  
"Thanks are irrelavant."  
  
"Yes. Well. . ." Sailor Moon said, taken back.  
  
"Stay out of my way," Warrior snapped and then leapt into the rafters, from there, out the hole in the roof.  
  
Running to the window, the Senshi saw Warrior leap over the wall, clearing it by a good ten feet.  
  
"Damn," Jupiter breathed out as the distant sounds of sirens reached their ears.  
  
"Let's get out of here," Venus said.  
  
#--#  
  
The Next Afternoon  
  
Though she no longer lived at home, Molly did have a decent loft apartment near her mother's jewelry store. The building was owned by a family friend and Molly got to live there virtually rent free in exchange for playing building manager, which mostly consisted of making sure the heater stayed working.  
  
She lay on her stomach, bare back to the ceiling trying to process what the ringing sound in her ears was.  
  
At that point, the ringing stopped and Molly heard her own voice.  
  
"Hi, this is Molly's phone. Leave a message at the beep."  
  
"Molly? It's Serena. Again. There's a meeting at Raye's temple today. We could use some input. Molly, if you're there, please pick up."  
  
Molly's flailing hand finally managed to find the button for the speakerphone.  
  
"Serena?" She asked, her mouth dry and feeling like it was full of cotton.  
  
"Molly?! Thank God! AreyouokayWecouldn'tfindyouafterthepartyI've calledlikefifteentimesalready!"  
  
"Party?" Molly asked. Then she remembered, along with the weird vision. "Oh yeah. I hid in the plants."  
  
"Oh. Okay! Well the meetings at five today. I'll see you then!"  
  
Molly hit the off button and rolled over in bed, her eyes falling on the clock on her wall.  
  
"Three in the afternoon?" She groaned as she sat up. "I hate Youma."  
  
#--#  
  
The Dark Kingdom. . .  
  
The man who walked through the hallways was not happy. He was tall, athletic man, with bright red hair, and cruel eyes. He wore a vest, green pants, and boots. He bowed respectfully to the man and woman sitting on the thrones as he entered the throne room through the double doors.  
  
The woman was all woman, tall, lush, with ripe curves and thick red hair. But there was nothing human about her eyes. All that had been stolen away millennia ago.  
  
The man lounged in his chair, a wine glass in his hand, laconic expression on his face. But his eyes were bright and alert behind the half closed lids.  
  
"Well?" the woman demanded.  
  
"The Youma/droid hybrid worked well," The man reported. "It collected more then enough energy to create another of its kind."  
  
"Then where is it?" demanded a third voice.  
  
"There was unexpected interference, Queen Mettalia," Rubius replied.  
  
"You let the Senshi interfere again, Rubius?" the red-haired woman half shouted.  
  
"No," Rubius gestured and an image of the female in the strange armor battling the hybrid appeared. "She calls herself Warrior."  
  
"A Guyver Unit!" hissed the man on the throne, suddenly sitting up straight, the wine glass clattering forgotten to the floor.  
  
"Guyver Unit?" asked the red-haired woman.  
  
"A symbiotic weapon. Very powerful and adaptable."  
  
"Interesting. If we could get our hands on such a device," replied the red- haired woman after a few moments thought, "it could prove most useful."  
  
"Then you shall have it, Beryl," said the man. "Rubius. Do whatever it takes to get that Guyver Unit!"  
  
"Yes, Prince Diamant," Rubius replied.  
  
#--#  
  
Yawning, a cup's worth of coffee in her stomach, Molly stepped into the shower.  
  
The dream she had still haunted her, it seemed so real.  
  
"Must have been the caviar," she said to herself as she began to soap up.  
  
'Not exactly,' said a dry voice in her mind.  
  
"Who?" Molly gasped, throwing open the shower door as she dropped into a fighting stance, her eyes darting around the loft.  
  
'I don't have a name, at least not one that would translate well into your language,' said the voice. 'Suffice it to say I am you.'  
  
"What? You're some alternate personality? I've gone skitzo?"  
  
'Not exactly. Why don't you make us some breakfast and we'll see if I can't explain it better.'  
  
"You'd better," Molly growled as she put on her robe and headed for the kitchenette even as the ridiculousness of what she had just done hit her.  
  
'Great. I'm threatening a voice in my head. I must've flipped.' 


	2. Choosing a path

"So you're some sort of biological armor?" Molly asked as she stepped out of the shower. Over the past hour, between bites of sausage, pancakes, and all through the shower, Molly's new friend had explained, in painstaking detail, exactly what he was. At least he sounded like a he.  
  
'That's one way of putting it.'  
  
"But why did these Aliens-"  
  
'The Advent'  
  
"The Advent then. Why did the Advent build the Guyvers in the first place?"  
  
'They wanted Justice. The Advent believed that there was no order in the universe save that which was imposed.'  
  
"And since no one else wanted the job, they took it?"  
  
'After the first Guyver Units stopped a war, nobody really wanted to argue.'  
  
"How did they stop it?"  
  
'They killed the leaders of both sides until they agreed to a truce.'  
  
"A truce? They didn't conquer them?"  
  
'Why would they? The Advent simply wanted the war to stop. The Guyver Units were so effective, the Advent built more and sent them out on ships to every star with a celestial body capable of supporting matter based sentient life.'  
  
"That's a lot of planets," Molly said as she laid out the shaving supplies. Though there were electric razors and other high-tech "quickie methods", Molly preferred the old fashioned way.  
  
'Its a big universe,' Was the casual reply.  
  
"The whole universe?" Molly sputtered then swore as the razor nicked her leg.  
  
'Why so surprised?'  
  
"A few star systems I can see, a whole sector of the Galaxy yeah, but the whole freakin universe?"  
  
'They aren't the sort to do things by halves.'  
  
"No kidding," Molly muttered.  
  
It was perhaps five minutes later that Molly had a thought.  
  
"Hey. If you're a suit of armor, and the other Guyvers are suits of armor, does that mean there's a bunch of other people walking around with voices in their heads?"  
  
'Of course not. The Guyver Units aren't sentient.' There was a long pause.  
  
Several minutes passed.  
  
"Yes?" Molly asked, unable to take the silence anymore.  
  
'I believe the phrase is, "Oh Shit"'.  
  
#--#  
  
"Look." Molly said as she laced up her boots. "Its no big deal. I go to the meeting, then afterwards we go back to the park to have a look around that lake."  
  
'If we must.'  
  
"You're not taking this very well," she noted as she stuffed the Mandai Memorials cap into her jacket pocket. The hat was not very presentable. Over the course of its lifetime, it had been stepped on, kicked, tossed, soaked, dried, muddied, cleaned, torn, mended, and torn again. It had been Melvin's favorite cap. Molly thought of it as a good luck piece.  
  
'I've just had my existence called into question.'  
  
"I've just had my sanity called into question," Molly retorted as she scooped up her keys, wallet, and, almost as an afterthought, her camera.  
  
'As I recall, you have been questioning your sanity all morning," was the reply.  
  
#--#  
  
Senshi meetings took place at the Cherry Hill Temple, a minor Shinto shrine located in Tokyo's prosperous Kiyon District. Run by an aged Shinto Priest and his granddaughter, the Temple catered to the spiritual needs of all who entered its gates.  
  
Unknowingly to the rest of Tokyo, It also served as the meeting place of the Inner Senshi. The Outer Senshi, despite an open invitation, rarely showed up unless either specifically ordered to do so by Serena or there was an emergency. Serena, who generally liked to believe the best of people, was sure they had their reasons and never pressed the issue.  
  
Therefore, grouped around a table in the back of the living quarters, sat five girls and two cats. One cat was all black, one was all white.  
  
These weren't ordinary cats, mind you, these cats talked.  
  
"I thought you said she would be here," said the black one.  
  
"Aw calm down, Luna," said her counterpart, who was named Artemis. "Molly's still new to being included in Senshi meetings."  
  
"The least she could do is be punctual," Luna snapped. Artemis sighed. Luna was overly concerned with propriety and tardiness offended her deeply.  
  
"Relax," said Serena. "She probably got stuck in traffic."  
  
"What traffic? Ever since she won that Motorcycle--"  
  
"She's had to deal with bugs in her teeth," interrupted the blonde sitting next to Serena. "What?" She asked when everyone glared at her.  
  
"Must you?" Raye Hino asked.  
  
"What?" asked the blonde again, innocence all over her face. Raye rolled her eyes. That was Mina's one irredeemable character flaw. She thought she was funny.  
  
#--#  
  
Tokyo Mall was a new addition to the city skyline. Built partially on the bay, the mall contained a freeway that ran along the shallow bay bottom and then up through the mall before dipping back towards the city. This freeway, which was really more of an expressway, was relatively deserted since most people were apprehensive about driving underwater protected by only a heavy glass tunnel roof.  
  
Molly loved it.  
  
Grinning behind her helmet, she weaved in and between the cars with practiced ease. She loved riding. The feeling of freedom, the roar of the engine, and though she would never admit it, she liked the vibration of the steel frame beneath her.  
  
'Is this risky behavior really nessacary?'  
  
"C'mon," Molly said, "haven't you ever done something for the sheer thrill of it?"  
  
'Not that I can recall.'  
  
"Didn't your last host do anything for fun?"  
  
'I. . .don't remember.'  
  
"No?" Molly asked as they roared into what she called Malltown. It was actually the section of the road that ran through the mall, but like most, she had her own name for it.  
  
'My first memory is encountering you and the one called Melvin. I tried to choose between you and he begged me to save you. So I did.'  
  
"He sacrificed himself to save me?"  
  
'Apparently. My contact with his mind was brief. I do know that he loved you. It was foremost in his mind.'  
  
"And I love him," she whispered, suddenly painfully aware of the cool metal against her skin that was the ring on its gold chain under her clothes and why it was there.  
  
Setting her jaw, she twisted the throttle as high as it would go.  
  
She had a weapon now.  
  
The Youma would pay.  
  
Every last one. 


	3. The past never passes quietly

By the time the meeting was over, it was nearly dusk. Pleading work, Molly was partnered with an high school friend on a Manga as the writer, she had left as soon as Senshi business was over. In reality, she wanted to get into Central Park when the park employees weren't paying close attention to the cars going in and out of the parking lot as people were either picked up or leaving.  
  
'Won't they check?'  
  
"Nope," Molly said as she parked the motorcycle at the lot near the launching ramp for the boats. "Well, not for a while yet. We have maybe an hour."  
  
'Question. How do you know this?'  
  
"Melvin and I used to stay here after hours a lot," Molly said, feeling her cheeks turn red. Partly it was from remembered passion, and partly because she was a little embarrassed to admit it.  
  
'Really.'  
  
"Don't sound so amused!" Molly hissed, unable to shake the feeling she was being laughed at. Then she tried to change the subject. "Are you sure you're watertight?"  
  
'We could go for a stroll on the moon if you like. Though getting there may be a problem.'  
  
"Are you trying to be funny?"  
  
'Not all. Shall we begin?'  
  
Thinking very dark thoughts, Molly walked down to the lake's edge and stood there. There were answers in there. Least of all was whether or not the voice in her head was because she had suddenly developed Multiple Personality Disorder, or she was sharing her body with an alien life form.  
  
Setting aside her camera, she took a deep breath and said one word.  
  
"Guyver."  
  
Scooping up the camera, Warrior slipped beneath the surface of the water, leaving behind only some ripples to mark her passing.  
  
#--#  
  
He shook his head as he stood in the empty room of the house on the hill. He-the past version of himself had created this place and the man who had lived here. Now he would resurrect that life.  
  
Now that he knew what had gone wrong.  
  
#--#  
  
Being underwater at night is not an appealing place. With little to no light shining in, you're essentially in pitch black darkness.  
  
Warrior, however, saw as clearly as though it was day.  
  
The lake bottom was firmly packed mud and here and there she saw cans, bottles, and other things. Including the Jacket and shoes she had kicked off nearly seven months ago, now destroyed beyond recovery by the water Scooping them up, she continued onwards, planning to give them a decent funeral in her building's incinerator.  
  
'Twenty meters to your right'  
  
"What?"  
  
'There is something there.'  
  
"What is it?"  
  
'I do not know. But it is familiar. Something from. . .before.'  
  
"Before what?"  
  
'You.'  
  
"How helpful." It was then she noticed something. "What the?"  
  
It was faint, but against the inky blackness of water there was a light.  
  
'Its coming from there. What I sense. From where that light is.'  
  
As they got closer, they began to encounter debris that wasn't litter dropped in by lazy boaters and appeared to be pieces of bone.  
  
"What the hell is this stuff?" she asked, crouching and picking up a piece of debris about as big around as her head. Similar chunks dotted the lake bottom.  
  
'It appears to be a piece of an Advent Ship.'  
  
"It must have crashed. That makes the lake an impact crater."  
  
'That is a logical assumption considering the evidence available.'  
  
"Don't get sarcastic," Warrior retorted as she stood back up, letting the piece fall from her hand. "I doubt that this is what we're looking for."  
  
'Undoubtably.'  
  
Moving slowly, Warrior advanced towards the light.  
  
#--#  
  
Serena was scribbling in her notebook when something on the radio caught her attention. Quickly, she grabbed her tape recorder off of her desk and turned it on, holding the microphone towards the speaker. When the news byte was over, she placed the tape into her pocket and ran out. She had to get to Molly's.  
  
#--#  
  
The source of the light proved to be a woman dressed in flowing robes and long white hair. She was encased in some sort of field and appeared to be sleeping.  
  
"Oh my God," Warrior whispered, falling to her knees. "It's a Kami-" she cut that line of thought off and tried to look at it rationally.  
  
She was underwater, and a woman was encased in some sort of field was there with her. That did not nessacarily mean she was a Kami, she could be human.  
  
Right. And the Wizard of Oz was a true story.  
  
'What's a Kami?'  
  
"A type of spirit. . .I think. I'm really not sure." Her hand clenched into a fist. "I knew I shoulda paid more attention when Raye explained her religion."  
  
'Raye worships these. . .Kamis?'  
  
"I think so, she's a Shinto Priestess, but I'm not sure what it all means." Warrior got to her feet and reached out with one hand to touch the field.  
  
She saw Melvin, happy and smiling.  
  
"What the. . .?" She gasped, jerking her hand away.  
  
'What did you see?'  
  
"You saw something too?"  
  
'I saw a human male, he was happy'  
  
"That was Melvin," Warrior said sadly.  
  
'It would appear the field has recollective properties.'  
  
"Huh?"  
  
'It stimulates the memory center of the brain. In your case, it brought to light your strongest memory.'  
  
"Which was Melvin."  
  
'Precisely.'  
  
"You said the energy was something you remembered from before you encountered me."  
  
'Yes, but its hazy. It does seem to be constant though'  
  
"Meaning you were exposed to it for as long as you were lying here on the lake bottom?"  
  
'I suppose so, yes.'  
  
"Well that makes a whole lot of sense," Warrior grumbled as she took another look around. It was then that she noticed the skeleton. It was next to the glowing field, its hand stretched out towards it in a gesture of longing. Walking over to it, Warrior noticed another one, and another, and still another. There was at least twenty of them, all with their hands stretched out in a gesture of longing towards the field.  
  
Careful not to step on any of them, she walked back around to the front and studied the face carefully.  
  
There was no hint of cruelty in that face. It was serene, peaceful. Nothing to suggest why she was in a stasis field in the first place. She looked over at the skeleton then back at the field.  
  
"I wonder. . ." She murmured and then placed her hand on the field.  
  
She saw Melvin over her, his hands unbuttoning her shirt. She felt the heat surging beneath her skin.  
  
Then she was standing in a burning village as men in uniforms and swords ran amuck. For a brief moment, she saw a man with thick dark brown hair, and then she was lying naked on top of Melvin, kissing her way down his chest coming closer to him, to the center of his being. When she reached, it, she wrapped her fingers around it and for a moment, stared at it, then lowered her head and wrapped her lips around him.  
  
Then she was back in the burning village, gesturing, as water from the nearby lake surged forth, washing through the village, putting out all the fires it touched.  
  
She was on her back now, Melvin working his way down her body. For a moment, he did nothing, then his tongue was at the source of the fire that burned within her. But all it did was fan the flames.  
  
She dodged aside as the man with the brown hair swung his sword. She couldn't hear what he was yelling, but she knew his face, it was etched into her soul.  
  
Nephrite. . .  
  
Then she was on top of Melvin, his tongue still fanning the flames. Moans passed her lips as she grabbed his hair, trying to pull him deeper inside her.  
  
She walked through the burning village, the men in uniforms yelling their battle cries. She was searching for something.  
  
No, for someone. The source of this chaos.  
  
She was on her knees, Nephrite in her arms, watching as he slowly became as light, surging upwards towards heaven.  
  
She was on her back again, Melvin over her, teasing her. She heard her voice pleading with him to get inside her.  
  
She stood in what was left of the main hall, watching the woman at the other end.  
  
In. Out. Over and over, Melvin repeated his actions, pleasure surging through her in wave after powerful wave.  
  
The woman at the end of the hall turned, her thick red hair seemed to be the color of blood in the light cast by the fires burning still burning outside.  
  
She was on top of Melvin now, her hips grinding against his, her head thrown back.  
  
Water and fire surged together. The water from her, the fire from her redheaded opponent.  
  
The waves were coming closer together now. Dirty words poured from their mouths, alternately cursing for the way the other made them feel and begging to keep it up.  
  
The fire and water surged around them both as they each tried stronger and stronger attacks.  
  
The pleasure was stronger now, a near continuous wave boiling through their systems, forging a bond between their souls. No words were exchanged, only primal grunts.  
  
She felt her skin boil from the fire and cool from the water. There was no end to the sensations, pain and pleasure, pleasure and pain.  
  
At the zenith, she cried out Melvin's name, and he cried out hers, each heedless of who might hear.  
  
The battle between them had ended in a stalemate and she was fleeing the burning village, towards the lake. An elderly man, his hand wrapped around that of a woman, her stomach swollen with life ran ahead of her. It went against her nature to run away, but she must protect these two. That was her job.  
  
She lay in Melvin's arms, completely contented, the afterglow surrounding them like a haze.  
  
A swirl of mist and the man and woman vanished, transported to elsewhere. She turned and looked towards the village. For a moment, she watched the inky black smoke boil upwards and then she turned back to the lake. Many years ago, she had been summoned up from this lake to protect the family of a young man. Now that family had been sent to safety but she and the red- haired woman would meet again. Turning, she stepped into the lake, weaving a spell about her. She would sleep until needed again, let all who touch her, save the descendants of they who she had protected be killed by their own memories.  
  
For a brief moment, she stared out through the yellow haze at a figure in armor made from bone and sinew, its glowing yellow eyes meeting hers and she smiled.  
  
Yes, they had survived and she, the Guardian, had a sister now.  
  
Then the figure jerked its hand away.  
  
Warrior stared, half in shock, half in amazement, as the woman's eyes closed, but that smile remained. For next ten minutes or so, Warrior stood still, muscles tense, but the woman made no other movement.  
  
Warrior's senses however, were reeling.  
  
"I understand now. . ." She whispered.  
  
'As do I. . .' Warrior blinked. The voice was no longer genderless, but a woman's, full and rich.  
  
"Wha?"  
  
'My name, is Kinsune.' 


	4. Breaking ties

Serena was sitting on the floor by the door, knees pulled up to her chest when Molly came home. Serena instantly noticed that her friend's face was wan and pale and her hands were shaking slightly.  
  
"Serena? What are you doing here?"  
  
"I needed to see you. There was something on the radio that I thought you should hear," Serena said as she held out the tape.  
  
"Thanks," Molly said absently as she took it. "Come on in."  
  
Molly's loft was sparsely furnished with most of the furniture pushed against the walls and one wall dominated by a row of huge windows that offered a view of some of the shorter buildings of the Tokyo skyline.  
  
"Be right back," Molly said as she disappeared into the bathroom, leaving Serena to her own devices.  
  
Near the windows was a small desk dominated by "Morris", the powerful computer that Molly and Rei Asamiya, the art half of the two-woman team that was responsible for "Notes from the Edge," a monthly comedy/drama manga chronicling the adventures of a nerdy alien trapped on Earth, used to give the artwork it's powerful colors and photorealistic feel.  
  
Idly, Serena drifted over to the laptop set at a right angle to Morris. This one, dubbed "Nine Lives", a move which had sent Mina into hysterical laughter, was where Molly did the writing for the Manga and she reached over to the notepad peeking out from under a book on killer viruses. She knew the pad was where Molly put her ideas down on paper and if she could get a look at next month's plot. . .  
  
"And just what do you think you're doing?" The question was asked in jest, but guilt, startlement, and perhaps the strained friendship that had existed between the two since Molly found out about Serena's big secret, was a factor, but Serena exploded with anger.  
  
"I was just looking! Can you blame me for being curious?"  
  
"I. . ." Molly said, taken back, then her eyes narrowed. "Well it is my stuff."  
  
"Excuse me? Who got you hooked on manga in the first place? And for that matter, who was willing to talk to you when you first came here?"  
  
"Well its not like I needed anyone!"  
  
"Oh yes, I forgot. Americans can't admit they might be wrong, world might blow up!"  
  
"Yeah, well Sailor Moon could save us, if she doesn't trip over her own two feet first!"  
  
Serena bristled. "What?" she asked softly, her tone of voice dangerous.  
  
"You heard me," Molly said, striking a pose. "In the name of the Moon, I'll punish you-whoops!" She finished the impression by pretending to trip over her own feet. "It's a wonder you ever got to the fight, let alone achieved victory."  
  
"Yeah, well at least my-" Serena broke off as her eyes fell on the picture of Melvin and Molly on the nightstand and her mind shuddered back from the line she had been about to cross. "My bus back home will be at the stop soon," she finished lamely in a more normal tone of voice.  
  
Molly's mouth twitched as she followed Serena's gaze to the picture, her eyes softening momentarily, before hardening as she turned to look back at her friend. "You should probably go then."  
  
"Right, "Serena agreed as she left. It wasn't until she was in the elevator that she allowed herself to think about what she had almost done. 'I. . .I nearly insulted Melvin's memory,' she thought. 'Molly never would have-I never would have forgiven myself if I had done that.' Trembling, she exited the elevator and left the building.  
  
#--#  
  
It was some several hours later that Molly sat on her couch, the notepad on her lap covered in meaningless scribbles. Try as she might, she could not come up with a plot. The events at the lake kept sidetracking her.  
  
"Hey, you in there?" Molly asked, tucking the pen in her hand behind her ear. "Kinsune?"  
  
Silence.  
  
Molly sighed. The Guyver had been quiet since it had told her it's name after they had touched that energy sphere containing the Kami, and that experience had left Molly with more questions then answers. Standing, she tossed the notepad onto the table and started to pace.  
  
Maybe some music. Yeah, music was good.  
  
Flipping on the stereo to a random station, she resumed pacing. What was she going to do? On the stereo, the music wound down and the DJ's voice smoothly sueged in.  
  
"That was Chi Misato and the Heaven and Earth Band. Start saving ticket money, folks, AIC has confirmed that Chi will not only be voicing a role in the first Parallel Dual! Trouble Adventure movie, but that the H and E will be doing the entire score and soundtrack. The movie will be in theaters early next year. Oh, and this just in. Seems the mall is gonna be closed for a while. Apparently terrorists have set up shop in Tokyo Mall and according to reports, brought a youma along for the ride. Police have cordoned off the entire building to prevent further exposure to hallucinogenic gas. But don't lose hope, our favorite sailor-suited femme fatales are on the scene. Now, how about some Areosmith?"  
  
"Shit!" Molly swore as she bolted out the door.  
  
"Supreme ACK!" Despite her reputation as a borderline psychopath, Lita Kino, currently in her guise as Sailor Jupiter, was actually a fairly well- mannered young lady. However, perhaps it was the window she broke when the youma threw her, or the dressing dummies that she knocked over, but she was inspired to invent several new four letter words, which she recited repeatedly as she got up.  
  
Gathering her energies, she prepared to demonstrate why the power of Thunder was hers to command.  
  
"Supreme whatda-" An orange and white clad form hurtled through the air and landed on her and both girls went down in a tangle of arms and legs.  
  
"Oops," Venus said as she helped her comrade to her feet.  
  
"Remind me. Why are we here again?"  
  
"Stopping that," Venus said, pointing at the youma. It looked human, if you discounted the fact that it had four arms and that the resembalance to human ended at the waist. Instead, it was supported on spider legs, and was covered in some sort of biomechanical exoskeleton. A large gem was pasted to its forehead and was using it to fire some sort of destructo-ray.  
  
"Oh, yeah." The sound of a battle cry attracted her attention.  
  
"DOWN!" They hit the floor as white hot flames flared out, scorching the walls and ceiling. "Damnit, Mars, watch where you're aiming!" she called as the Senshi of Fire joined her teammates inside what had been a clothing store.  
  
"Don't look at me," she protested, brushing broken glass off herself. "That thing moves faster then curry through the digestive track. I didn't even realize it hit me until I went through the window."  
  
"YAHHHHHHH!" Sailor Moon put in as she came flying through the door, followed by Mercury.  
  
Rushing to their side, they found that once again, Sailor Moon's ability to suffer injury without actually being injured had protected her once more. Mercury, however, had a hand to her side.  
  
"Broken ribs," the blue-skirted Senshi said. "It has telekinetic abilities."  
  
"Owwwwwww," Sailor Moon added.  
  
"Peachy," Jupiter muttered. "Mars. Do what you can for them. Venus?"  
  
"Right behind you." Jupiter stiffened. That wasn't Venus' voice. Slowly, she turned. The youma stood in the remains of the doorway. One of it's hands was closed around Venus' throat. Grinning sheepishly, the Senshi of Love gave Jupiter an apologetic wave.  
  
"Why me?" Jupiter said, massaging her temples. "Why can't you guys bug someone else for once?"  
  
"Excuse me?" Jupiter blinked. The youma was staring at her quizzically. "I'm sorry, did I break your train of thought?"  
  
"Yes!"  
  
"Oh my. Awfully sorry about that. Please take all the time you need. I didn't mean to interrupt."  
  
"Interrupt? Interrupt?!" Jupiter asked, wondering when she had boarded the eight-thirty to the Twilight Zone. "No, you didn't just interrupt, you dragged us from our beds. What is it with you guys? Why can't you attack at a decent hour?"  
  
"I-"  
  
"And if that's not enough," Jupiter continued as though the youma hadn't spoken. "You injure my friends!" She turned away dramatically to see Mars giving her a perplexed look. "Look at them! Lying, there, bleeding, perhaps broken. Their short lives perhaps seeing their end."  
  
"Well, that is what I'm supposed to do-"  
  
"Don't try to justify your crimes!" Jupiter shouted. She was improvising for all she was worth. "You came here! You committed vandalism in the mall! You-"  
  
"Now hold on just a moment," the youma snapped, crossing one set of arms and with the other set, began to gesture, waving Venus around in the process. "I was created to do those things. I can hardly be held responsible for my actions if I am simply following an instinct that just happens to drive me to maim, kill, and destroy."  
  
"Instincts can be overridden, or forgotten."  
  
"And where did you hear a silly thing like that?"  
  
"I just. . .I just know these things, okay?"  
  
"And you're making claims based on unsubstantiated facts? That's very poor logic."  
  
"No more poor then your refusal to take responsibility for your actions," Jupiter shot back as out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mars sneaking along the dubious cover provided by the toppled clothing racks, a ward in hand. 'Great Father, what did I do to deserve this?' She thought as she sought to keep the Youma's attention.  
  
At that point, Mars leapt from hiding, ward in her outstretched hand. Whirling, the youma caught her by the neck as well and the piece of paper fluttered to the floor.  
  
"What's this?" The youma asked, looking from Mars, to the ward, to Jupiter. "Say, you wouldn't have been trying to distract me would you?"  
  
"No. Of course not," Jupiter protested, placing her hands behind her back. "That would be silly and, not to mention, completely dishonest." The energy for a thunderbolt gathered in her cupped palms. "Which we, the Senshi, are above."  
  
"Yes," the youma's tone was dry, almost sarcastic. "Well, look, its been awfully fine chatting with you, but I'm afraid I really am going to have to kill you and your friends now. Nothing personal you understand, but I have to make a good impression, this being my first day on the job and all."  
  
"Of course," Jupiter replied, the fine hair on her arm standing on end as she wrapped the thunderbolt around her fist. She was only going to get one chance to put it down the youma's throat and fry its guts. The question was when to strike.  
  
"I'm so glad we could understand each other," the youma said, starting forward. "I-eh?" It looked back and then howled in accompaniment to the sound of something wet tearing. Dropping Mars and Venus, it whirled to face whatever was behind it and Jupiter had to fight a sudden bout of nausea. The youma's entire rear had been literally torn away and ichor and entrails dripped and hung from the gaping hole.  
  
And deep inside the hole, she could see its heart.  
  
"JUPITER THUNDERBOLT SMASH!" she cried, as she hurled the thunderbolt forward.  
  
Like an arrow, the ball of energy flew forward and struck its target.  
  
The youma roared and then exploded into dust.  
  
As the ash fell, she saw Warrior standing there, fingers coated in the youma's blood.  
  
"Thank you," Jupiter said.  
  
Warrior turned and walked away.  
  
"Hey! Jupiter yelled, running up to her and grabbing her arm. Warrior spun, one hand raised to strike, a ball of energy forming in the palm. "Whoa, whoa," Jupiter protested, letting go of Warrior's arm and stepping back. "I just want to talk."  
  
"About?"  
  
"Back there. That makes twice you saved our lives. We really do appreciate it and we thank you."  
  
"Your thanks mean little to me. You are only slightly less responsible for my creation then they are."  
  
"Us? How?" Jupiter blinked and in that split second, Warrior vanished.  
  
"We're responsible for her creation?" Amy asked as they walked along the street the next morning.  
  
"That's what she said," Lita replied. "Just slightly less responsible then the youma are."  
  
"Weird," Raye said. "Wonder what she meant by that?"  
  
"Maybe she's a youma," Mina offered.  
  
"A youma?"  
  
"Yeah. Some kind of prototype that was made to stop us and instead went rogue."  
  
"A rogue, prototype, youma," Raye said with heavy sarcasm. "Which just happens to look like something out of a manga by Yoshiki Takaya?"  
  
"Well, yeah."  
  
Without changing expression, Raye reached over and slapped Mina on the back of her head. "Try again."  
  
"Actually, Mina may be right, Raye," Amy said. "Warrior's behavior pattern is consistent with that of someone out for revenge. In both cases, she's waited until we were on the verge of being killed before intervening. It's entirely probable that she is saving our lives for no other reason then to taunt whomever is sending these youma."  
  
"Well that makes me feel better," Lita said, rolling her eyes heavenward.  
  
"It wasn't intended to," Amy continued. "If we continue the line of logic that Warrior is some sort of rogue youma who is seeking revenge against her creators, she could very well come after us once she is done with her brethren. We are, at least in her view, also responsible for her creation."  
  
"Then we'll just have to stop her first," Lita said grimly. "Next time she makes an appearance. . ." she held up her hand where the others could see it and clenched it into a fist.  
  
After a moment, the others nodded agreement. 


	5. Question

As Lita walked through the gym early that afternoon after her workout, she saw Molly whaling away on a punching bag. Dressed in sweatpants and a lycra top, sweat gleaming on her skin, Molly appeared to be trying to wear herself out.  
  
"Molly?" Lita asked, concerned.  
  
Molly didn't answer, she hadn't heard Lita, because her thoughts were in a whirl. When she was fighting as Warrior, it was like she was someone else. Someone cold, determined. The need to kill flowed through her veins whenever she activated it. Was it years of pent up rage? Frustration? Or was the damn thing taking her over? And if it was, why did it suddenly change voices after touching that stasis field?  
  
Questions, so many questions, and they just kept piling up- "There's too many damn questions!" she yelled as she lashed out. The bag flew off its mountings and across the room where it hit the wall, breaking open.  
  
"Holy. . ." Blinking at the sound of another voice, Molly turned to see Lita standing there open mouthed and further on, the other inhabitants of the gym gathering nearby, attracted by her yell and the sound of the bag hitting the wall. Beyond that, she could see the manager approaching.  
  
"Aw hell," Molly muttered.  
  
"That was some punch," Lita said. She and Molly were in the Gym's cafe, bottles of juice before them.  
  
"Yeah," Molly replied, staring at the tabletop. Even though the bag had been due for replacement anyways, Molly had still had to pay for the replacement. She hated spending money.  
  
"What's eating you?" Lita asked. Bored with being subtle, she had fallen back on something she was more familiar with. Blunt directness.  
  
"Got a lot of questions," Molly replied.  
  
"What kind of questions?"  
  
"No offense, Lita, but I don't want to talk about them right now."  
  
"Fair enough." Lita glanced around and then hunched over the table, speaking in a near whisper. "Did Serena tell you what happened last night?"  
  
"No," Molly replied mimicking the move. "We're. . .not on speaking terms at the moment."  
  
"We ran into that Warrior lady-the one we told you about who beat up the youma at the Gardens? Anyway, we ran into her last night at the mall."  
  
"Y-you did?"  
  
"Yeah, and get this: she's some sort of prototype youma who's gone rogue." Molly had been sipping her juice when Lita had said and as a result, did a cinema-quality spit take.  
  
"R-rogue youma?"  
  
"Well, Amy says its only a theory, but it makes sense to me."  
  
"Rogue youma?" Molly asked again.  
  
Lita nodded. "Yep. That's the theory." With that, she repeated the morning's line of logic that had led to this conclusion. "So the next time she appears," Lita said, smacking her fist into her open palm. "We nail her."  
  
"But what if she's not a youma?" Molly asked.  
  
"What else could she be?"  
  
Molly was saved from having to answer as her watch went off.  
  
"What's that for?"  
  
"Business meeting. Darien stumbled on the deal of a lifetime and we have to decide whether to take it."  
  
"You are so lucky," Lita said as they started walking towards the changing room. "You have your own company, you set your own hours, must be nice."  
  
"Nice?" Molly repeated with a derisive snort. "Lotus is a bottomless pit of energy and time. As for luck. . ." she trailed off. "Luck was Darien able to convince the Trustees of the Shields Foundation that our manga was worth handing over the seed money to start a publisher just to get it out. Luck was having him agree to be our CEO. Without him, we probably would have been bought out several times by the bigger houses in hostile takeovers. By the time we're done with operational costs and salaries, Lotus usually only breaks even. That's why this meeting is so important. With this new money, we can start branching out and hiring young artists who are looking for a home for their creations. Plus, Amy and Raye are willing to sign on as Financial VP and Editor in Chief. That will keep me and Rei free to work on Notes."  
  
"Woah."  
  
"Yeah. The plan is to eventually have many mangas filled with different characters all existing in the same universe." Molly grinned. "And each and every one will be published by Lotus Inc." She pushed open the door to the locker room. "But that's not the best part."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"Not only does the deal include investment money, but they are saying the A word."  
  
"A word?"  
  
"Anime," Molly said, grinning maniacally. "Lita, the investor is Matsudai Animation!"  
  
"Holy shit!" Lita exclaimed. M.A. was one of the oldest, and, according to some, the first animation house in Japan. They had been around for years.  
  
"Yeah, that was my reaction," Molly replied, pulling off her top with one hand while opening her locker with the other. "And as much as I want to celebrate, it's all talk right now."  
  
"True enough," Lita agreed. "Hey, what are those scars from?"  
  
"Scars?"  
  
"Yeah, two of 'em, right there below the base of your neck."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yeah. They look like little crescent moons."  
  
"Dunno. Probably birthmarks or something."  
  
The conversation soon turned to other things and they chatted amicably as Molly finished dressing and headed out to the parking lot.  
  
As they approached her bike, Molly suddenly stiffened and sprinted across the parking lot to the exit. She stood there like a dog hearing a high pitched noise, staring at something across the street.  
  
"What's wrong?" Lita asked as she came running up behind her. Molly didn't answer and Lita followed her gaze to across the street, squinting as the sun shone into her eyes. Standing in front of a window was a very familiar looking young man dressed in black. Then he was obscured by a rush of people. When she could see the window again, the young man was gone.  
  
"Crud," Lita muttered and then turned as something hit the pavement. Molly lay there on the asphalt, out cold. "Double crud."  
  
Prince Diamant was brooding. Twice now the Guyver unit had interfered and twice had it brutally destroyed the hybrids. He could almost admire the ruthlessness which the host possessed.  
  
"A shame, really," he said.  
  
"What's a shame?" Beryl asked. His Queen looked up from her crystal ball.  
  
"That the host of the Guyver unit is an enemy," Diamant replied. "Their ruthlessness would make them a powerful ally. Instead, they will have to be destroyed."  
  
"And perhapss I can help with that," said a voice as something came bouncing out of the shadows to roll to a stop at their feet. It was Safiru's head. Moments later, a cloaked and hooded figure stepped forward.  
  
"My name isss Emissssary," it said. "My employerssssss wish to do business with you." A clawed hand emerged from the cloak and indicated the severed head. "Conssssider my presssence here our resssume and that," it indicated the severed head. "Our qaulifications."  
  
"I see," Diamant said as he leaned back in his chair. "Please, continue." He poured himself a glass of wine as the one called Emissary began to speak. 'And when our business is concluded,' Nemisis' Prince thought. 'I will string you and your masters up by your innards for laying your hands on my brother.'  
  
When Molly awoke, she found herself staring at a wooden ceiling. She was lying on a futon and a cold cloth was on her forehead. "Wh-where?"  
  
"You're at Raye's temple," Lita replied. "It was the closest place to the gym."  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"You tell me," Lita said and then told her what she had done.  
  
"I don't remember doing that," Molly said when Lita had finished. "Oh crap!" She sat up. "The deal!"  
  
Lita planted her hand on Molly's chest and pushed her back down. "Relax, I already called Darien. You got a bunch of scripts to do, a few million yen in the bank and a buttload of papers to sign." She poured some tea.  
  
"How long have I been out?"  
  
"A few hours. Raye and I have been taking turns playing nursemaid." She passed Molly the tea. "It's almost midnight."  
  
"I see, thank you," Molly replied as she took a sip. Then her eyes widened and she spat the tea out. "How much yen?" she asked incredulously.  
  
Molly sighed as she sat down on the temple steps. The others had long since gone to sleep, but she couldn't. The gap in her memory from leaving the gym to waking up in the temple bothered her more then she would like to admit. "What's happening to me?" she asked the dim stars overhead. "Why can't I remember?"  
  
'You may not want to,' said the familar, dry voice in her head.  
  
"Kinsune?" Molly gasped.  
  
'No, not exactly. Kinsune was the Kami in the sphere, I'm. . .I suppose a copy will suffice.'  
  
"A copy?"  
  
'It's complicated. Touching that sphere gave me a lot to think about and that's why I've been quiet for so long. What did I miss?'  
  
"Hoo boy," Molly sighed.  
  
'Interesting,' was all the Guyver said when Molly finished. 'And you have no memory of that?'  
  
"Nope," Molly confirmed. "One second I'm leaving the Gym, next thing I know, I'm staring at Raye's ceiling."  
  
'Troubling.'  
  
"Yeah," Molly said. She was both pleased and upset. Pleased that the Guyver was speaking to her again, and upset because in speaking to her, the Guyver had reminded her of just how much she had missed it. As long as she heard that voice, she could never be sure of herself. Ever. She had no doubt the Guyver was real, but it talking to her? That was another matter entirely. 'Maybe I am losing my mind,' she thought. 'God, I miss Melvin.' 


	6. Prelude to war

"No Blood for Oil? Hey, at two bucks a gallon, I'm willing to talk about it." -Steve Marmel  
  
It was two weeks before the youma struck again, this time in a train station in Nerima. However, the district being what it was, the youma was active for several hours before somebody called the police, who in turn called the Self-Defense Force, who ordered an immedite evacuation of the district. The order, broadcast over both TV and radio, was what alerted the Senshi, who had been on the other side of the city.  
  
The youma could best be described as a humanoid igauna crossed with a fish. The mercury computer picked up DNA strands that appeared to be from the electric eel and from the speed it was displaying as it darted around the station, there was probably some rabbit in it somewhere.  
  
"Suggestions?" Sailor Moon asked. There were no civilans in the station, no living ones anyway, and the youma seemed to be content with wrecking the place. Therefore, the Senshi could take some time to come up with a plan instead of winging it, which they did far too frequently. The Senshi themselves were presently perched on top of the ticket box,  
  
At that moment, the sound of glass breaking heralded the arrival of Warrior through the roof. The youma turned and regarded the newcomer.  
  
"GUYYYVVVERRRR!" It howled and charged.  
  
"What the hell's a Guyver?" Jupiter asked as Warrior threw herself to the side, allowing the youma to go on past, stopping only when it ran into the wall.  
  
"More then likley Warrior's species," Mercury noted as she fed the information into her computer. "Hmm, intriuiging. Their energy signatures don't match. Warrior is not from the Dark Kingdom. Her armor appears to be bio-converted energy. Interesting."  
  
Out in the station, Warrior popped her arm blades and started taking chunks out of the youma's hide.  
  
"It's what?" Venus asked.  
  
The youma finally extracted itself from the wall and backhanded Warrior the length of the station.  
  
"Warrior's armor," Mercury repeated. "It's made up of bio-converted energy. It's proof of energy to matter conversion. "  
  
Warrior got to her feet and began throwing energy blasts.  
  
"In plain Japanese please?" Mars asked.  
  
The youma used its speed to dodge them.  
  
Mercury sighed and tapped her earring once, disengaging her visor. "Matter is quite simply, solids. You, I, this station, are all made up of matter. Matter can be changed or mixed with other matter to make new types of matter. Such as oxygen and hydrogen mixed together to make water. You cannot, however, convert energy into matter, or so we thought."  
  
Warrior threw a bench.  
  
Mars frowned. "So Warrior is breaking the laws of physics?"  
  
The youma caught it in mid-air and after breaking it in half through sheer brute force, threw both pieces back.  
  
Mercury shook her head. "Not quite. Until Goddard flew his rocket, the very idea of rockets was believed to be against the laws of physics. Until the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk, powered flight was thought to be against the laws of physics. Technically, what we call the laws of physics is really more of a collection of observable data and theories. We call them laws because as far as we can tell, this is how the universe works."  
  
As though climbing steps, Warrior stepped from one piece to the other and then to the side of a pillar, staying there as though she was some kind of spider.  
  
"So what you're saying is, that just because we haven't observed it, doesn't mean it can't happen?" Venus asked. As one, the heads of the Senshi turned to look at her. "I paid attention in physics once," Venus said. "Why are you looking at me like that?"  
  
Howling, the youma started up the pillar after her.  
  
"No reason," Jupiter said, trying to ignore the huge drop of sweat that was making its way down the back of her head.  
  
Overhead, the combatants leapt from beam to beam in a deadly game of tag.  
  
Mars frowned. "Wait a moment. If Warrior is a Guyver, and the Guyver is from outside the Negaverse, How come it recognized her?"  
  
A light crashed to the floor next to the ticket stand.  
  
"Perhaps the Guyvers, assuming there's more then one, are another enemy of the Negaverse. The Moon Kingdom can't have been their only attempt at conquest."  
  
A howl of fustration attracted their attention and they turned to see the youma crumpling to the ground, already turning to dust from the blade that had impaled it through the heart.  
  
What was surprising was the fact that the blade was not one of Warrior's arm blades, but a sword. Even more surprising was who was holding it.  
  
For a moment, they stared at each other, and then Jupiter broke the stunned silence.  
  
"N-Nephrite?"  
  
A thousand years ago, Princess Makoto of Jupiter had been dispatached to the Palace to serve as aide, bodygaurd and companion to Princess Usagi. Upon arrival, she had been greeted by General Nephrite, who was also from Jupiter and considered one of that world's greatest warriors.  
  
The attraction had been instant and what had started as a simple fling, quickly blossomed into a storybook romance. Eventually Nephrite proposed with the expected results, and plans for a wedding were made despite rumors of dissension from Earth. But then the groom disappeared.  
  
Three months later, he reappeared leading the armies of Beryl and the last Makoto saw of him, he was laughing as a Negaverse soldier ran her through.  
  
Even now, a thousand years later, Lita could feel Makoto's rage, feelings of betrayal, and emotional pain that bubbled up as she saw his face.  
  
Her eyes narrowed as a thunderbolt formed in each hand. Maybe he had paid for what he had done to the Moon Kingdom, but Maktoto was another matter entirely.  
  
She started forward and then stopped as a hand grabbed her wrist. Turning her head, she found herself looking at Warrior.  
  
"Hear him out," she said. "He deserves that much at least."  
  
"But he..." Jupiter started and then stopped and let the bolts disspate. "Yeah..." Turning she walked over and joined the others and then turned back as she felt a gust of wind. Warrior was nowhere to be seen. "Bloody..." She turned back to Nephrite. "Okay. I'm here. Speak."  
  
Nephrite looked at Sailor Moon and then dropped to one knee, clapping his right fist to his heart and bowing his head. "My Queen," he said quietly.  
  
"Eee-ooh-uh," Sailor Moon said, drawing back.  
  
"Get a grip," Mars hissed and then whispered something in Moon's ear.  
  
"You may rise," Sailor Moon said, trying to look regal. Mars whispered something else. "Why have you returned to us?" Sailor Moon asked.  
  
"If it please you, Sire," Nephrite said, his eyes moving in the direction of voices as the police and rescue workers began to make their way through the rubble. "I would answer your questions elsewhere then here."  
  
"Okay," Sailor Moon squeaked.  
  
An alleyway, three blocks from the train station...  
  
"Okay, Nephrite, start talking."  
  
"What do you wish to know?"  
  
"How you're alive for starters," Mars demanded. "The last time I saw you, you were dead."  
  
"To be honest, I'm not exactly sure. I-" Nephrite broke off as the sound of someone gasping was heard. Standing at the mouth of the alley was Molly.  
  
"N...Nephrite?" She asked. "Is it really you?"  
  
"Yes, Molly, it's me."  
  
At that, Molly let out a squeal of delight and hurled herself into his arms, sobbing. Closing his eyes, Nephrite held her tightly.  
  
Nephrite leaned back in the booth and looked into Sailor Moon's eyes. She had returned to her civilian identidy, and there was very little sign of the girl he had confronted almost six years ago. The rest of the Senshi were nowhere to be seen, though he had the feeling that they were somewhere within earshot. Yet try as he might without being obvious, he could see no large groups of young ladies in the room, nor had there been a sudden surge of people coming in.  
  
He looked back at his Queen. Of the Senshi, she was the only one whom he had seen without the magic mask that safegaurded her identidy and therefore, the only one who could sit the cafe and talk to him without spoiling their secret identidies. They didn't trust him even though he had died to save Molly's from Zoisite. As well they should. He meant what he had said, but they were expecting him to prove it.  
  
Considering his past deeds, he wouldn't have trusted himself either.  
  
Next to him, Molly sat, her arm wrapped around his and her expression declared that she had no intention of letting go anytime soon.  
  
"And you think the crystal had something to do with your ressurection?" his queen asked.  
  
Nephrite nodded. "It's the only thing I know of with that kind of power, though I can't imagine why it would do so. It was six years before we could gather enough energy to open even the smallest portal and that was only for a few seconds at any one time. My Queen. I deeply regret my part in the Moon Kingdom's destruction. I want to atone for my betrayal of your mother." He leaned forward. "Beryl has wed and the Negaverse's forces have doubled as a result."  
  
"Married? Married who?" Molly asked.  
  
"He calls himself Diamant. It is only because of him and the energy that he brought that we were able to once more come back to Earth." The queen's mouth dropped open.  
  
"D-Daimant? He's dead. His ship exploded...I mean..." She stared helplessly at them for a moment and then seemed to draw on something deep inside her. When she spoke again, her tone was crisp and she spoke concisely. Nephrite listened without comment.  
  
"...and the sisters are still here," she finished. Their shop, come to think of it, is right over there." She pointed out the window to the buildings on the other side of the street. Nephrite could see the four women he knew as the Four Sisters and sent out a brief probe. The four women had the same auras, but no powers.  
  
"Then this is a different Diamant," Nephrite mused.  
  
"Different?"  
  
"He described Time Travel as a challenge. While he didn't actually say it, I gathered that it's imprecise. That is, pinpointing a certain place, time and date is something of a gamble. This Diamant must be one who failed the gamble and arrived six years later and in the wrong dimension."  
  
"The Negaverse," Molly said grimly.  
  
"Exactly."  
  
"But why did he marry Beryl?" asked the Queen.  
  
"He used a love spell, intending to bind her to his will," Nephrite said, sounding as though he was trying not to laugh. "She used a similar one on him. As a result, they are hopelessly devoted to each other." He glanced at the wall clock. "My queen, I must return. If I am to be of any use to you, I must maintain the pose that I am still loyal to the Negaverse." The queen nodded as he turned to Molly. "Molly...this time..." It was all that needed to be said and she nodded, releasing his arm and standing up so he could exit the booth. Pausing only to leave a twenty-thousand yen bill on the table, he exited the cafe. Serena turned off her communicator. The rest of Senshi had been three blocks away, listening to the conversation through it.  
  
"I don't believe it," Raye said as the Senshi entered in their civvies soon after. She picked up the note. "He covered the check?" Amy plucked the note from her hand and handed it to a passing waitress. Raye stared at the table where Serena sat. Before her, two plates of what had once been pie and an empty goblet that had once held a sundae plus a few glasses of soda.  
  
"I'm on a diet," Serena replied loftily, seeing Raye's expression.  
  
Mina started snickering.  
  
"Where have you been, Nephrite?" Zoisite demanded as he entered the palace.  
  
"Restablishing my human identidy," Nephrite replied. "It may be needed."  
  
"I'm watching you, Nephrite," Zoisite snarled, jabbing her finger at his chest. "Maybe Beryl's too besotted to give it any thought, but I remember you being willing to betray us for one human girl."  
  
"And I remember that you killed me." Zoisite flinched backwards and Nephrite smirked as he continued on his way.  
  
"You'll get yours, traitor," Zoisite snarled and made her way back down the side cooridoor that she had come from.  
  
Despite its proximity to the station, the bike had survived the battle with only a few scratches on its paint and as Molly pulled her helmet on, she heard a voice calling her name. Turning, she saw Serena walking towards her.  
  
"Molly, I'm--"  
  
"No, Serena," Molly said. "Just...no." She crammed the helmet onto her head and mounted the bike.  
  
"But, Molly!"  
  
"Go to Hell, Serena."  
  
The bike's engine roared to life, blotting out Serena's response.  
  
'That was cruel,' the Guyver noted as Molly steered the bike out of the parking lot. 'She's trying to make peace with you.'  
  
"I don't care," Molly growled. "I don't need her friendship and I don't need her and her sailor-suited bimbos."  
  
'You may be wrong about that.'  
  
"I'm not," Molly replied, but even to her, the words sounded false and she could feel that the Guyver agreed.  
  
Molly savagely bit her pencil in half as she marched, or rather, stormed across the printing area. With the Matsudai deal in the bank, Lotus was rolling in money. In fact, she, Darien and Rei had moved Lotus into its own building, a two story warehouse at the edges of the city near the bay. Not only was there ample space for printing presses, but a bunk area, showers, the works. Of course, the place needed some renovation, but hell, it was home. The building, the land, the works. All theirs.  
  
Scowling, she spat the pencil halves onto the floor, pulled a pen from her pocket and scribbled some notes on the first episode script some hack at Matsudai had sent her, muttering to herself. "An alien, he's supposed to be a fucking alien. He just gets here and he automatically recognizes a vending machine as a vending machine? I suppose next he'll also be able to pick up a date like James Bond shoots a damn gun."  
  
Flipping through a few more pages, she snarled in disgust and accosted a passing intern. "You. Send this crap back to Matsudai." She threw the script at the young man and marched up the stairs to the office level, nearly knocking over an electrican who was rehanging a light. "Uh, Miss Okasa?" The electrican ventured.  
  
"What!" Molly snapped.  
  
"Does this light look all right?"  
  
Molly looked at the light and then gave the electrican a withering stare. "Is it going to fall on somebody's head?"  
  
"I hope not."  
  
"Then it's fine," Molly said and continued on her way.  
  
"Molly?"  
  
"What?" Molly yelled as she spun to see Darien standing in the doorway of his office and flinched. "Yes, Darien?"  
  
"Got a minute?"  
  
"Yeah. Sure." She walked past him and into his office where she flopped into a chair. "Sorry, Darien, I'm feeling a little edgy."  
  
"I noticed," he said drily and shut the door before leaning on his desk. "Molly, the last thing I am is nosy, but this--"  
  
"No, Darien!" Molly snapped rising to her feet.  
  
"Sit!" he snapped with such authority that Molly obeyed. "Listen. That's all I'm asking. Serena is hurting, Molly. This argument the two of you have going is putting her in pain, actual, physical, pain and it's killing me to see her in pain and be helpess to stop it."  
  
"Good," Molly sneered. "Maybe now she knows how I've felt all this time."  
  
Darien stared at her, taken back. "I'm sorry?"  
  
"Serena and I were best friends. I was always there for her. So when does she tell me she's Sailor Moon? Five dammned years afterwards and then only because I wouldn't let her get her and her surgically repaired leg--that she injured in the first place by being stupid--out of a hospital bed otherwise. Five years, Darien. For five years, I got shut out of her life to be what? The convienent damsel in distress for Sailor Moon and that pack of bimbos to swoop in and save my ass. No, Darien. Serena and I are through. Over. Finished."  
  
With that, Molly stormed out of the room.  
  
"I tried," Darien said with a shrug.  
  
'That was really unfair of you,' the Guyver noted as Molly flopped on the couch in her office. 'He was only trying to help.'  
  
"He'd throw himself into a pit of poisinous snakes if Serena so much as suggested he do it. He's so in love with her you can see fucking Cupid dance around his head whenever her name comes up. Disgusting."  
  
'And yet you seemed on good terms with Lita, who is, one of the "bimbos". You did, after all, stop her from killing that Nephrite person.'  
  
"An attack of nice," Molly growled.  
  
'And of course, you had no personal interest in him.'  
  
"Stay out of my head!"  
  
'We've discussed this. I can't see your thoughts, but your feelings for him are easy to deduce based on how you reacted when you saw him. Your heart rate jumped and your hormone levels rose. I take it he has some importance?"  
  
Molly sighed. "We...have an interest in each other. He was--is one of Beryl's top generals."  
  
'Beryl is the one responsible for the Moon Kingdom's destruction?'  
  
"Yeah. I've never seen her, but Serena described her as pure evil. She works for some...demon lord or whatever named Mettalia who's supposedly ten times worse and then some than Beryl."  
  
'And Nephrite works for Beryl.'  
  
"Yeah. One of the top four generals. Um, Jeddite, Malachite, Nephrite...and Zoisite." Molly snarled out Zoisite's name, teeth clenching in hate. "The last time they were here, she and those three sluts killed Nephrite."  
  
'If he is the enemy, why do you love him?'  
  
"I don't. Or I thought I didn't." Molly ran her hands through her hair. "He betrayed them to save me and got killed him for it. Melvin was the only one who would listen to me talk about it afterwards while I tried to understand...he seemed to be the only one who would understand. Serena was so distant when it came up--of course now I know why, had to protect her secret--but Melvin wasn't. He was never too busy to listen to me. I guess that's why I fell in love with him." Molly's fingers toyed with the ring on the chain around her neck. "I thought I was over Nephrite, but when I saw him at the station..." She shook her head. "It was all I could do not to throw myself into his arms right then and there and tell him everything. Would have spoiled everything if I had."  
  
'Very well, so if you hate the Senshi so much, why do you show up when they do.  
  
"Simple. Zoisite and the Senshi are enemies. Sooner or later, she'll confront them and I'll be there when she does."  
  
'And then?'  
  
"And then? And then I'll kill her." 


End file.
